Portland Observer Thursday, September 18, 1975 Page 3 UWUWTÍS WJ SWCÄWM by H erb l„ Cawtborne I have been ronfrontiiig 1 have concluded that a myseli with the question. high school diploma for a "What kind of edurations Black student is meaning are the Black children less unless it represents the receiving from the Portland maximum effort to prepare high schiwdsf 1 have been the student to fare a tough, bothered by the results of ruthless, mean world cal this confrontation. I cannot rulated to discourage him help but insist that the into a meek posture of educational programs in the n o th in g n e s s and non Portland school system achievement. A high school which involve large num diploma means nothing un bers of Black children are less it represents a Black narrow, poorly thought out student's rapacity for self in terms of the needs of knowledge and self expres Black students, and turning sion, for a commitment to out products who are un discipline and freedom, and able to effectively operate for a tireless strength to as good, creative citizens in carry on the work and a lime when the country struggles of the generations and the world needs their of wonderful Black ,H*ople citizenship so badly. who came before him I have looked at many It is the spirit of inquiry, high schools with high per of creative expression, of centages of Black students. change and hope that must I have taught countless be promoted among Black Black students who have high school students. Al graduated from Portland though the high schools schools It is fair to say cannot develop this spirit that the greatest portion of and strength on their own, them were poorly prepared without informed parental with communicative ahili guidance and community ties, unable to negotiate the involvement, they ran rer priM-esses of education for tainly lie criticized for their full advantage, and so routine, regimented, nar shallow in their general rowly conceived programs knowledge as to render whirh do little more than them incapable of under trample the sparks of free standing how to gel worth dom which might lead to while things accomplished the confident self expres in today's world For a sion so essential to the Black student who must human being In Portland, strive against the strong as in other areas of the country, the continued ef winds of oppression and fort to minimize activities institutionalized racism in order to get worthwhile which encourage discipline things done, this is an of thought, development of character, and depth of u n a c c e p ta b le s itu a tio n C o n s e q u e n t ly , B la c k citizenship in favor of vara leaders, educators, parents tional programs is a case in ,Klint and students must ask themsebes and those most The information speaking against vocational training directly responsible for the in the high srhiKil is all development of high schiMil programs. What kinds of around us. if only the Black (•durations are Black child educators and principals runnng the schools in the ren receiving from the Black com m unity would Portland high schools.*'' look for it In Change. June, 1975, for instance, the fraudulent nature of "sell mg" education as an econo mic investment is clearly exposed. The article indi cates that the tendency is to create vocational pro grams for primarily "dis advantaged" students, who have already been tracked as unmotivated, non achiev ers You find very few vocational tra in in g pro grams in schools outside the inner city whirh have an enrollment of smaller por turns of the Black popula turn The reasons why are clear most jobs do not require specific skills, most individuals change jobs five to seven tunes throughout life, and M ra|kht "academic training" renders greater economic rewards over the long run As Change ,Hunts out. many Black students are being duped because "the skills employers are liHiking for in graduates are not specific to a machine or an industry, they want young workers who ran read, write, compute, pick up new skills quickly and eagerly, and interact co o,ierative|y with others These are the adaptive skills of liberal education, not the specific skills of vocational education .“ No longer can the leaders and parents in the Black community stand by and watch their rhildren turn into non thinkers and no bodies. We must speak up and ask the difficult ijues lions. We must ask them of ourselves and of our tea r(hers; we must push our selves to be more involved, and we must sincerely seek to question and understand the public srhiKil admini strator. whether Black or white It should make no difference whose toes are in the way. Especially of this impor tarit at a time when so many representatives of the Black community are being tra n s fe rre d fro m th e schiMils where there are large numbers of Black students We will have no choice but to work with the white teachers and admini strators as cooperatively as possible But, as profes sional educators, they will have to explain their pro grams in answer to our questions and inquiries Where we find it. they will have to explain their insen sitivity to the Black youth, th e ir superficial under standing of the needs of the Black community, and their general lack of enthusiasm for the issues of Black education, locally and ria tionwide. They will have to explain '.'.hy children in a program for slow readers watch “I Dream of Jean me." from beginning to end, or listen to records and finger [nip when they could tie engaged in vocabularly developm ent or reading short stories, novels and autobiographies They will have to explain the justifi cation for ex,landing the vocational training curricu lum when it is clear that such programs keep our rh ild re n frozen in the wasteland of economic in equality, and does not en courage the broad know­ ledge required to function is an active, informed citizen in this country High schiMils must deve lop ways to enhance the sense of hope and freedom among Black students They must ex,iose students to many forms of communi r a tio n , to many activities, to many people, to many organizations, to many idea - and to many ways of getting giHxi things done in the world Students must be laught to interact with many elements of the so cietv. for this is one means to make freedom a real possibility. It is in the knowledge of the com plexity of the social, politi cal Structure that a sense of hope ran be maintained W hin the student under stands the nature of the society, a sense of purpose can be developed whirh enables him to give to his community as much as he has taken from it. Without such confidence in their understanding of the society, its ideas and processes, students are not made free, but afraid. They are afraid to confront the massive bureaucracy of government and big busi ness. they cannot go after the processes of education to maximize their stages of growth; they feel inade quate in expressing their opinions on public matters; and 'hey do not know how to present their ideas to the legislature, or the mayor, or the community leader It is the function of the school system to expose them to the methods by which they can develop, present and activate their ideas without fear and frustration, but with purpose and sincerity Moreover, it is the school system's function to en courage the spirit of inquiry and confidence and hope that will motivate young students to take an active, continuous responsibility to c re a tiv e ly change their com m unities and th eir world for the betterment of all people. Generally, the Black stu dents from Portland whom I have taught at thi University of Oregon have not been at all prepared for the active, responsible citi z.enship necessary for the advancement of themselves, their communities and their world Thus, they have been almost completely un prepared to aggressively take advantage of the opportunities to forge a path against the mean wind of a system that is full of inequities and discrimina tory practices. Although many factors come to bear on this lack of preparation, it is essential that Black community leaders, educa tors, students and parents relentlessly ask the public school officials. “What kind of educations are Black children receivin g from Portland high schools?" And why? It is their responsibility to provide acceptable an swers. Need Glasses ---------- All Optical INSURANCE Accepted Fast? Oplenxet rie EYE Examiaatiaa Ask U i AS m I • PtiasMu n those en - • :es worth up to $250 000 in protection against Major Medical costs if you don t have Senes 70 protection ask us about i, Wnte or ca your nearest Blue Cross of Oregon representative for further information It may be the protection you can , afford not to have Blue Cross o' Oregon 100 SW M.rket Street Portland Orevion 97201 Please send me the free no-obiigabon booklet on the Senes 70 Plan Note It you are over 65 years of age check th.s box and we h send you informat on on our Cover Age 65 health plan ' Name Add're Crt> M i care for people. Blue Cross • < o*M ru<*t»oii Member Whim 1 nntrarlnr* 2 8 8 -6 3 4 7 .' p Por Series 70 Plan information by phone Portland 225 6010 Salem 588-0581. Eugene 342-3317 Medford 772-8906 Pend'etcn 276 5931. Coos Bay North Bend 756-7113 \ Mhd« I \ t I# hbnr htn»<1 H usinrxk 3 9 3 3 N.E. U nion State of Oregon F a n a ticism T ha t w h ich in pride and w h ich tflorteft in persecution. ro u n d e d on Mo P J